"Man, what are you doing with a gun in space?"

[funkychinaman]

Short answer: to shoot wolves.

http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0704-JULY_ASTRO

In an otherwise empty space behind the small-man cradles in the Soyuz TMA-1, there are soft-sided white bags that contain emergency supplies, including flares, warm clothes, water, and--because sometimes bad things happen--a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun. In the sixties, a Soyuz capsule landed off target, in rugged country, and after the cosmonauts inside had gathered their nerve, they broke open the hatch to find themselves surrounded by wolves, their breath turning solid in the cold. The men might have liked to run, but they could only crawl. Since then, every Soyuz crew packs a little something under the seat.

[mpe2010]

I think that the author might have been referring to this gun when he said double barrel shotgun.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...-82-space-gun/

[AdAstra2009]

Interesting.

Now though according to an article that firearm has expired and has been replaced with a handgun.
I doubt American counterparts have such measures.

[AdAstra2009]

""Man, what are you doing with a gun in space?""


Now though according to an article that firearm has expired and has been replaced with a handgun.

I doubt American counterparts have such measures.

[funkychinaman]

Well, that mission in question was a few years ago, so it could've been replaced by a handgun by now. But if we're talking about surviving in the wild, I would think a shotgun/carbine/machete combo would be more useful, albeit more heavy.

[Krel]

Back in 1999, during the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, there was this one show that claimed that the Apollo Astronauts carried a handgun. If it true, I wondered if it was a pistol, revolver, or a Gyro Jet.

David.

[Spades of Columbia]

Originally Posted by Krel

Back in 1999, during the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, there was this one show that claimed that the Apollo Astronauts carried a handgun. If it true, I wondered if it was a pistol, revolver, or a Gyro Jet.

David.

Maybe it was the Callahan Fullbore Autolock like Jayne carries

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by Krel

Back in 1999, during the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, there was this one show that claimed that the Apollo Astronauts carried a handgun. If it true, I wondered if it was a pistol, revolver, or a Gyro Jet.

David.

I suppose the only reason would be if they were stuck on the moon and couldn't return they'd have a quick way to die instead of starving or suffocating. But I'd think a cyanide capsule would be much lighter. Or, they could just open the hatch.